As details continue to emerge about the four men accused of holding up the York Street Burger King over the weekend, it appears that some, if not all, of the suspects may have been in the middle of a crime spree across the Midlands that ended in the City of Aiken on Saturday.
Aiken Public Safety detectives spent much of Monday interviewing the two suspects in custody and talking with investigators from other jurisdictions where similar crimes have been reported.
Robert Mills Jr., 27, of Columbia, and Sean Mark Rodriguez, 25, of Columbia, have each been charged with 16 counts of kidnapping, as well as armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Mills' bond was set at $515,000. Rodriguez's bond was set at $855,000.
A third man who reportedly took part in the holdup, Richard Simmons, 24, took his own life after he was cornered by police, the Aiken County coroner reported.
Simmons was found hiding in a heavily wooded area near Toy Car Wash, around the corner from the Burger King. He was ordered to surrender and then pulled out a .38 caliber revolver, put it to his head and pulled the trigger, officials said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The fourth man is still on the run. He has not been identified.
Investigators from other parts of the state who are working with Aiken police have reviewed the evidence collected over the weekend, attempting to see if the men may be the same who held up a KFC in Sumter on Nov. 1 and a KFC in Winnsboro on Oct. 25.
Police said they recovered weapons and clothing and have inventoried the car that had been carjacked in Columbia in early October.
The holdups are very similar, said Lt. David Turno, a spokesperson for Aiken Public Safety.
In all three cases, a group of men ordered those in the restaurant into the walk-in refrigerator during the armed robbery.
In Sumter and Winnsboro, only three men entered the restaurant.
"The fourth man may have been in the car waiting," Turno said. "It's under investigation."
During Saturday's holdup, four men entered the Burger King about 12:40 p.m. They parked a stolen car in the parking lot and then walked in.
Once inside, they forced customers and employees into a walk-in commercial refrigerator and ordered the manager to hand over the money, police said.
What the men likely didn't know was that a handful of employees had already escaped out the back door and ran over to a nearby gas station where they asked a clerk to call for help.
Aiken Public Safety arrived within moments of the emergency call, police said.
Several officers surrounded the restaurant.
Police said they could see the men inside. The gunman spotted the officers then took off running.
The officers quickly detained Mills.
Rodriguez was detained after a Crosland Park resident spotted a man run into an abandoned home. The resident stopped a detective patrolling in the area, and police forced Rodriguez to surrender.
The fourth suspect reportedly carjacked a man while he was cleaning his car at the nearby car wash. The gunman ordered the man to take him to Hampton Avenue and then took off running once the driver arrived at the location. The victim was not physically injured.
Police said they believe the men may have been familiar with the area but cannot say whether they staked out the area ahead of time or not.
All three gunmen identified have criminal histories.
Rodriguez has been in and out of prison a number of times. He has been charged with numerous armed robberies and burglaries in Columbia.
Simmons had also been in prison. He was charged with multiple counts of assault and battery with intent to kill.
Mills has only one previous arrest. He was charged with criminal domestic violence in 2002.
Police have made a victim advocate available to those in the Burger King during the holdup Saturday.
"The employees and customers did as they were ordered, and the store manager kept a cool head," Turno said.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:36 AM
Comment Title:
About 5 percent of thugs comitting crimes are actually caught and put in jail. This being said, that leaves what? 95 percent to continue. It has to do with the sheriff not being experienced or smart enough to recognize crime before it happens. Deputies are scared to roll up on a group of suspicious people and thugs know they are. Hunt is too proud to ask for help from people who actually know how to deter all this violence. This problem is bigger than anybody thinks, you'll see some day. Oh ya, and this "idiot" is a life long resident and retired ACSO deputy.
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Posted by: Fred Jr. On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:53 PM
Comment Title: dont get it twisted
What does Hunt have to do with this mess? I'll admit I don't agree with a lot of decisions made by the ACSO but they didn't see this coming. I will say this, if you don't like the good ol boy system we have down here you can go back to yankeeland or wherever you came from. People like you keep us from having a true good ol boy system that would have taken care of these street trash punks about 30 minutes after each one was arrested. Instead now we have to spend taxpayer money on housing them for several more years. I salute the one they found behind the toy wash though, a true pioneer. There's no telling how much money he saved us. Leave the popo out of this one dude, they'll screw up something in the near future then you can piont and laugh!
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Posted by: American No Hyphen On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:43 PM
Comment Title: Re:Bruce
Thank You, we will have to work together to rid our country of this blight.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:33 PM
Comment Title:
I am sure I will NEVER go inside to eat at any of these fast food restaurants ever again in this area. It was just a matter of time really. We all knew this was going to happen because of the location it is in. As for giving Crosland park all those millions of dollars for them to get a face lift, It wont change a thing. The money would be better spent in hiring more police to patrol and make this area safer.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:06 PM
Comment Title:
What does the sheiff have to do with these thugs committing crimes. What an idiot. If these thugs keep being let out of jail...blame the lawyers and judges.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 12:12 PM
Comment Title:
Everybody says they're fed up......then vote, get the fool of a sheriff out of office. These thugs are moving here in droves because crime is so easy. They have a step up on the good ole graniteville boy.
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Posted by: Bruce On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 11:39 AM
Comment Title:
If a citizen would have pulled out a .357 and put that thug on his back not only would I have lost no sleep over it, I would have brought their lunch.For once I agree with American this crap has got to stop.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 7:01 AM
Comment Title:
These thugs have no fear. No fear of anyone or anything. If they did fear the outcome of their behavior ( such as public lynching) perhaps they wouldn’t take the risk in terrorizing our community.
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Posted by: American No Hyphen On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:33 PM
Comment Title:
I want to say thank you to the dead scumbag you did the world a favor and I hope you never contributed to the gene pool.The only complaint I have is that I was not there to help your frieds join you on your speedy trip to the hell you so richly deserve. If there are more like you and I am sure there are with the government sponsored breeding program for your kind send them to us we will be ready next time. By the way thanks for shopping in Aiken.
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Posted by: still fed up with this garbage On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 6:33 PM
Comment Title: get summ
Let me tell you something jb. I never claimed to ba a good hearted christian or a saint buddy! I do have a cwp and if someone tries to rob me I will blow holes through them until I think they are dead enough. You need to grow up and think about your family and comunity. If I were to rob someone at gunpoint I know what to expect. I would know there are people out there like me that won't take this crap. I'm not an outlaw or some kind of maverick but I refuse to let this garbage run my hometown of Aiken and turn it into a piece of crap full of thugs who think they can rob people randomly 24/7 and get away with it. Get a life jb because you obviously have no backbone to stand up for what is right. You can call us rednecks or hicks or klansmen whatever you like but we end up protecting wimps like you because you cower down when it comes down to business. I have several black friends and even have black folks in my family and I would give them the shirt off my back because they are excellant people who also think this kind of behavior is unacceptable. People like you keep this race crap stirred up, not people like me. This is not about race its about out of control street trash running wild in our community. Grow a set jb.
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Posted by: The Baron On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:23 PM
Comment Title:
Criminals deserve no rights JB. If you don't want to witness executions then keep your ass at home with your nose in a Bible telling your kids about the myths that lie within. Law abiding citizens have the right to not have their freedoms and liberties violated by these thugs.
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Posted by: On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:58 PM
Comment Title: The helplessness of it all
I think people are reacting to this so strongly because When you think of Burger King, You think of taking your young ones out for a treat, not having a gun shoved in your face or aimed at one of your children’s head. It is a shock for something like this to happen so close to our home. I think they should never see the light of day again.
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Posted by: On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 2:10 PM
Comment Title:
To the tree I say, we need some old fashion southern justice
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Posted by: On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 1:31 PM
Comment Title:
What Kind of idiots rob a Burger King? Cmon how much did they think they were going to get? All the whoppers they had under those heat lamps? The ones that got caught deserve everything they get/got. For the one who got away, his day will come
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Posted by: John "JB" Birt On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 1:19 PM
Comment Title: WILD BARBARIANS
It seems like some people need a brain and a heart. We are not in the dark ages of Europe, where you can take a criminal and tar and feather them. Me, striving to be a civilized man would get no joy out of taking my children to town square on saturday to see a criminal hanging from a tree with his eyes bulging out of his head,or a person being burnt to a crisp and then take pictures next to the remains like the klan use to do not many years ago. Also, if you take the time to research, you will see that SC is very harsh on violente crimes especially on arm robbery and there is no parole for violent crimes in SC. If I was on a jury, I would base my decision of innocence or guilt on the facts of the case, not on my own ideas or empathies. There have been too many innocent people wrongfully convicted of a crime for us to say that all convicted violant criminals should be killed. You good people of Aiken need to look deep into your spirituality and also check your emotion. With mentalities like that, you seem more like devils than God fearing people.
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Posted by: The Baron On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:19 AM
Comment Title: Re: JB
The law isn't handling these thugs and criminals. Many are repeat offenders. There is no rehabilitation for these thugs. It should be one strike and you're out. Mandatory capital punishment for all convicted violent felons and open carry firearm policy. Make these punks aware of the consequences and let them be eradicated from society and from being a burden on taxpayers. Law abiding citizens that are clearly visually packing will deter crime.
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Posted by: Annette On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:17 AM
Comment Title: ARC
The sad part is these young men will be out on parole sooner than you think and if there where customers with a permit to carry and did shoot and or kill these young men they would serve more time than these young men will be.
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Posted by: On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:12 AM
Comment Title: JB Birt
Its clear you were not in Burger King or have never been a victim of crime. Have you ever had a love one harmed by thugs like this. Its people like you that sit on juries and let people go because you feel sorry for them. Glad no one would have to depend on you for support. Just someone who is sick of having my things stolen and abused by thugs like this. Take them to your home and counsel them on their behavior.
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Posted by: On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7:11 AM
Comment Title: BigDaddy
Let me be among the first to congratulate Richard Simmons for doing the honorable thing in snuffing out his own life. It was obvious he had nothing to contribute to society, other than a life of crime, so he did the right thing. My hat's off to him. Perhaps like him will follow in his footsteps.
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Posted by: John "JB" Birt On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 6:41 AM
Comment Title: WOW
The crimes that these young men commited were very serious and deserves just punishment. I too fear for the safety of my family when I hear about events like this. But when I hear an idoit talking about public executions and lynchings, I realize how backwards and rednecked these devils are here in Aiken. How will my community benefit from watching someone get hung in public or from smelling the aroma of fresh burning flesh? You so-called civilized christians are nothing more than some barbaric savages if you think that way. Let the law handle these criminals and stop trying to rally up some backwoods imbread scum bags to pick up arms and kill whoever they feel deserves it vigilante style. We have courts for that!
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Posted by: Want_Aiken_Cleaned_Up On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:52 AM
Comment Title: The Three Stooges
Oh my heart's a-flutter. What a handsome trio of men! Just the kind you want to take home to mama.
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Posted by: A.L. Cooper On: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:19 AM
Comment Title:
fedup, my sentiments exactly. Enough of letting "homeboys" terrorize our law abiding citizens. Vigilantes, mount-up!
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Posted by: On: Monday, November 09, 2009 10:03 PM
Comment Title: Robbery
We need more people with permits carrying concealed weapons. When an event like this happens, it would be great if several customers would pull out hand guns and blow them away.
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Posted by: fed up aiken On: Monday, November 09, 2009 9:20 PM
Comment Title: make an example out of this garbage
We need to bring back public executions to downtown aiken. Round these guys up in front of the court house. Go ahead and hang these guys up and make an example out of their stupidness. Let the burger king employees throw tomatoes and lettuce at them and taunt them right before the store manager pulls the cord to drop the floor on the gallows. Let the guy they carjacked pour gas on them and burn the corpses so we don't have to use taxpayer money to bury street trash thugs. I wonder if that would send a message to these clowns around here that keep robbing banks and convenient stores. Now these punks will probably be out on bail so they can meet up with thug number four and commit some more crime in our wonderful city of Aiken. If you let these guys out on bond they should have to be tied to trees in downtown aiken with a leash like dogs so people riding by can throw debris at them. Maybe throw a burger king wrapper out for their supper. Sick and tired of this in aiken. I hope they find the other guy somewhere with a whopper jr shoved. You know.
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